Lackey Fills In Blanks in a 1-0 Angel Victory

John Lackey had to pitch his way into the Angel rotation in spring training. Now he may be making a case for inclusion as an All-Star.

The lanky right-hander continued a pattern of strong starts Friday with perhaps the finest performance of his fledgling career, pitching a three-hit shutout to give the Angels a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in front of a sellout crowd of 43,674 at Angel Stadium.

Lackey retired 19 of the final 20 batters he faced and worked out of the only jam he created after loading the bases with two out in the third. Only one Devil Ray, Carl Crawford, reached base the rest of the way, and he was stranded at second in the ninth when Tino Martinez grounded out to first baseman Robb Quinlan on Lackey’s 107th pitch.

Quinlan momentarily lost sight of the ball after it rolled around near his feet and needed some help from Lackey to find it.

“I was like, ‘Hey, it’s right there! Pick it up, dude!’ ” said Lackey, who pumped his fist after receiving the throw from Quinlan to end a game that lasted only 2 hours 10 minutes. “I know Tino doesn’t run real well, but I could hear him coming.”

Lackey allowed three singles, struck out three and walked one while recording his third career shutout. Had Martinez reached base in the ninth, closer Troy Percival would have relieved Lackey.

“For him to get out there and finish that ballgame is big,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “By being so aggressive and having such good command early in the game, he saved a lot and had a lot left at the finish. He threw some of his best fastballs at the end.”

The Angels won for the 13th time in 15 games and extended their winning streak to seven with four regulars, including cleanup hitter Garret Anderson and designated hitter Tim Salmon, out of the lineup. The Angels (20-10) tied the franchise mark they had set in 1970 for their best start through 30 games.

After getting shelled for 11 runs in nine innings in his first two starts, Lackey has become the Angels’ most consistent starter over the last three weeks, posting a 2.15 earned-run average in his last four starts to lower his ERA for the season to 4.23. He has lasted at least 6 2/3 innings and has not allowed more than three runs in any of his last four starts.

“I’ve really located my fastball well the last four starts. That’s been huge for me,” Lackey said. “I’ve been down in the zone, I’ve been on both sides of the plate most of the time and I’ve been getting ahead of the hitters.

“Strike one has been really good for me the last couple of starts. That makes things easier later on in the counts.”

Lackey (3-3) won Friday without the benefit of the offensive onslaught to which Angel pitchers have recently become accustomed. A team that had averaged nearly nine runs a game over the first four games of this homestand could manage only one run off Devil Ray starter Mark Hendrickson.

It came via small ball after Shane Halter ended an 0-for-12 slide with a leadoff double to left-center in the third. Adam Kennedy laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Halter to third, and David Eckstein dropped a bloop single to left-center over a drawn-in infield to score Halter with the only run the Angels would need.

“I was just trying to elevate the pitch to get the ball into the outfield,” Eckstein said. “Fortunately, I was able to drive in the run.”

Lackey said he was pleased to repay the major leagues’ most productive offense.

“The guys with the bats have been hooking us up all year, scoring a ton of runs,” he said. “It was nice to kind of reciprocate a little bit.”

Lackey retired the first eight batters before yielding consecutive singles to Rey Sanchez and Crawford and a walk to Julio Lugo in the third to load the bases. But Lackey got Midre Cummings to fly to center to end the threat.

“It’s falling into place for him,” Scioscia said of Lackey. “He has it in him to get on a roll. To have John throw the ball that well has to give us a big boost.”